HP Virtual Connect for c-Class BladeSystem Version 3.30 User Guide

Virtual Connect server profiles 119
Rare situations exist where VCM is not able to retrieve information about all of the blades in multi-blade
server (such as certain hardware failures that keep a blade from being in a normal state prior to applying
power). In such cases, VCM displays the Major error status icon. Where text is shown with the icon, the text
is “Missing Data”. This indicates a serious problem with the multi-blade server that needs to be fixed. VCM
cannot properly map profile connections to a server when it is in this state.
Multi-blade servers do not support iSCSI.
Flex-10 overview
Flex-10 technology is exclusive to Virtual Connect environments, and it allows Flex-10-enabled 10Gb NICs
to enumerate as four FlexNICs per 10Gb port. These FlexNICs are actual PCIe functions, and they appear to
the operating system or hypervisor as discrete NICs, each with its own driver instance.
Although these four FlexNICs share a single 10Gb physical interface, Virtual Connect is able to keep traffic
for the FlexNICs isolated, and each FlexNIC is assigned to one or more distinct Virtual Connect networks.
Each FlexNIC can be assigned a different transmit bandwidth (from 100Mb to 10Gb), which is enforced by
hardware mechanisms.
A Flex-10 capable NIC (embedded Ethernet or mezzanine card) only enumerates as four FlexNICs per
10Gb port if that NIC is directly connected to an HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 Module or an empty
interconnect bay. Eight FlexNICs are enumerated when connected to an empty interconnect bay because it
is assumed that an HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 Module will be installed in that bay. If a Flex-10-capable NIC
is connected to a Virtual Connect interconnect module that does not support Flex-10 or a non-Virtual Connect
interconnect module, that NIC enumerates as only one Ethernet device per physical port.
The following table shows an example of how a BL495c Flex-10 embedded Ethernet device would be
enumerated when connected to different interconnects. For more information about mapping between
servers and interconnect bays, see the HP BladeSystem c-Class enclosure documentation on the Installing tab